The Bonding Stone
by StephyB
Summary: This is an Elves' tale about two sisters, a cousin, a wolf-dog, and a He-Elf who help save Middle-Earth from the greatest destruction ever known. Follow them in their journey; watch as they develop as individuals, lovers, and friends.


**Elf Sisters**

In the woods of the Blue Mountain, two female She-Elves sit upon large oak trees. Their bows and arrows sit holstered on their backs, and they feel safe enough to leave them there. The green leaves begin to sing the crispy enchantment song of Spring. The two young women inhale the sweet breeze of the Middle-Earth as the wind rustles through the blooming forest.

The eldest one, though you can only tell by looking into her wise pale-green eyes, tilts her head up to the clear sky. Her gold-blonde hair falls down her back in tangles. Her nose is wide and her bottom lip is plump. Her small green maidens dress, torn and dirty upon her legs, billows along with the air. She smoothens it down, though it is no worry of politeness. She is wearing black tights beneath the dress. Her feet, however, are bare.

"Sister," Kristlin whispers loudly, as she is not the best at keeping quiet.

"Yes?" Stafina addresses, but keeps her eyes on the kingdom ahead of them.

Kristlin, only two years apart from Stafina, tucks her dark brown hair behind her ear to keep it from covering her child-like blue eyes. Her hair is much like Stafina's; wild, and full of twigs. Her dress – the same, but blue. They have much resemblance towards each other in terms of facial structure. It is their personalities and hair colors that differ.

"We still seek materials."

Stafina turns her head to look at Kristlin, just as she gestures towards her own bare feet. Stafina smiles at her sibling, whom has lived seventeen short years. "Patience. Jauk is clearing the area."

Jauk is the sisters' eight-month wolf-dog. He has soft fur, the color of a burnt sunset, with a white under-belly. Just down his forehead is a single white stripe, and along his back there are strokes of black fur, mostly occurring in his tail. (His colorings nearly make him look like a giant fox, but not quite.) His orange eyes are intelligent and alive; making you think that there ought to be more than a wolf in his soul.

Kristlin's thick dark brows pull inwards, causing a stressed dent in her smooth forehead. "Patience is not my strongest virtue," she mutters.

Stafina laughs, and it carries like a bird song, as most Elves voices do. "Indeed. You remind me of Father Bonding." Kristlin's forehead softens at the thought of their deceased parents. Stafina grows serious. "Soon, we shall enter the Kingdom of Mirkwood in search of our cousin."

Below them, something crackles on the soft ground. They each hush, and watch with curious eyes as a male Elf steps into their line of view. The sisters can tell immediately he is a worker because of his short hair, which is a fiery red. Stafina watches with curiosity as the man looks into the forest with eyes the color of planet Earth.

* * *

**Farmer's Son**

The tall Elf takes long strides, deeper into the forest. He keeps his eyes steady on the trees in front of him, knowing very well you must keep on your toes when you trek into the wild. Unfortunately, all he has to protect himself is a couple cheap arrows and a small dagger, carved out of wood. They are not exactly the most comforting weapons to him.

Even so, he walks on, brave as ever.

The wind picks up and threatens to rip through his worker's shirt, which used to be an off-white, but is slowly graying over the years from the soil. He also has dirt smeared upon his freckled skin and within his scruffy beard. His hair is almost as tangled as Stafina and Kristlin's. The youngest sister supresses giggles at this observation, but Stafina is old enough to know that he is a worker; a builder perhaps.

He walks on, passing them in the forest, and they breathe out of a sigh of relief. Perhaps now is their chance to jump from the trees and make for the kingdom. Yet, as Stafina turns to give an order (which would undoubtedly result in Kristlin's eye rolling), the man's footfalls stop.

They strain to listen, praying to Elbereth – the goddess of the Elves – for themselves to not be seen. To their great relief, and then horrible dismay, the man speaks.

"I know you are there," he says with confidence, and because Stafina cannot see him, she does not know if he can see her. Kristlin, however, looks down at him, smiling boastfully. He can definitely not see them. He may be able to hear them, possibly, but he cannot see them. Not yet.

Stafina is about to silently chastise the girl when Jauk jumps out of the bushes below them, charging at the strange man with full speed. She watches with horror as their usually friendly wolf-dog knocks the man down, and then she jumps from the sturdy branch, landing steadily on her feet like a large cat.

She runs up to Jauk and the man, tearing the wolf-dog off him before he is murdered. To her surprise, she sees the happy expression on Jauk's face, and then notices the He-Elf laughing as well.

"Lie down!" Stafina commands in a stern voice. Jauk jumps to the Earth's floor, wagging his tail, his tongue flopping out of his mouth. She glares at him miserably, thinking to herself that he is just a dumb pup after all.

The man stands up and peers at the untamed, yet beautiful, She-Elf cautiously. "I have not seen you around these parts. Did the king –"

"Do not stress about the king," Stafina demands. "We are welcome here."

His red eyebrows pull in, and she immediately recognizes her mistake. Kristlin, still hanging up in the trees, jumps to the ground, landing smoothly. She grins at the young man, older than both of them by at least five years. Stafina groans at her sister's dramatic entrance.

"The name's Kristlin," she says proudly as she walks towards him. The moment she approaches him, she sticks out a small hand.

The man hesitates, but then clasps his large palms around hers. "Good Greetings," he says, as a way to be polite. The sisters wait for his name announcement. He does not reply straight away. Instead, he looks towards Stafina, his expression changing greatly.

"I am Maerikál Macartho, the Mirkwood's farmer's son."

* * *

**Reuniting**

"He seemed to favorite you," Kristlin says in a teasing voice, elbowing her sister in the ribs.

Stafina nearly lets out a growl from her mouth. They need to be discreet if they want to get away with entering a kingdom unannounced. The Great War may have ended 100 years ago, but that does not mean villains do not still lurk in the shadows, waiting for their chance to strike again. And because of this fear, most kingdoms have very strict laws about newcomers.

"Keep quiet," Stafina mumbles.

The Elves approach a wooden cottage that seems vaguely familiar. Stafina eyes it up, looking for a familiar marking, a marking of their ancestor's past…

When she sees it, her eyes widen and fill to the brim with tears. She steps forward to the house, allowing her fingers to feel the ridges of the carving in the birch wood of the outer walls. Kristlin stays behind, watching, but not entirely understanding what it is about a strange shape that is so important.

Stafina pulls her fingers into a fist when she finishes the complete outline of it. She shuts her eyes for a moment, prays yet again to Elbereth, and then straightens her back. Kristlin follows as her Elf-Sister knocks on the brown wooden door to the house, and then they walk inside.

Before Stafina understands what is happening, she is being pulled into the arms of a taller and physically stronger woman. They embrace, and when Stafina pulls away, she smiles at her cousin Sheera Livegem.

The She-Elf has hazel eyes, a pointer nose than her cousins, and bow lips. Her hair is gold-blonde, dark than Stafina's, and it is cut shorter. She has two thick braids tucked behind her Elf ears, as the rest falls straight.

There is really no resemblance between the cousins physically, but mentally, Stafina and Sheera are often on the same wavelength.

"It has been too long," Sheera whispers. In that moment, she looks so much like her mother (Stafina and Kristlin's aunt), that it makes the girls' heart ache with memory of the past.

"Where is your son? We have yet to meet him," Kristlin says suddenly. She dances around the small living space, searching for a little Boy-Elf. "Where is he?"

"He is with his father," Sheera says. Her eyes shine with the thought of her loved ones, her family… the family that must be protected at all costs.

Kristlin, Stafina, and Sheera exchange understanding glances at one another. Stafina is the last to speak, and each word weighs heavy in the air "Take us to the stone."

* * *

**Bonding Stone**

"It has not moved this spot," Sheera says. She uncomfortably shifts her weight to her other food and tenses up her already crossed arms. "We keep it safe here. Elves do not like to venture underground, such as a Hobbit."

The three young women are inside a hole in the ground, a sort of Hobbit-type hole, though any Hobbit would have made it look much homier. The walls are hard dirt, packed tightly, just like the ground below their feet. It smells like Earth, and it is cold.

Stafina looks at the pearl-white stone, which is in the shape of a perfect triangle, as it sits on a gold stand. On it, there is engravings of Tengwar, which is a popular Elf language. It reads:

wHPxP iT jv-w2HPxP iT r`B6N- (On Word, it is in Tengwar font)

Kristlin peeks over Stafina's shoulder and translate the engraving into English. "Bonding is light. Bonding is savior." She chews on her lip, getting frustrated. "What does it mean?"

The two older women breathe deep, trying to figure out what it means themselves. Sheera speaks patiently to her cousin. "Our great-great-grandfather had this stone given to him by the High Elves. It is a prophecy, written on stone."

"The Bonding Stone," Stafina whispers quietly. "Our own ancestors never knew what the prophecy was to mean. Of course the High Elves couldn't have possibly been saying we are Gods – they have seen the Gods themselves! The light has touched their hearts!"

Sheera's thin brows pull inwards. "What could this possibly mean?"

There is a click of silence, and then Sheera's eyes pop open. "Mother had told me after my Father Livegem died, that she was having strange dreams. She knew that he was going to pass."

"Impossible," Kristlin mumbles. "Elves do not have psychic abilities."

"It wasn't psychic powers, young one." Sheera says as she puts a long hand on the girl's brown head of hair. "It was the High Elves whispering to her that their time is coming. Mother was not scared. She was accepting." Hot tears build up in the young mother's eyes as she recalls her own maternal parent. "She was the strongest woman I knew."

Stafina smiled softly, took Sheera's hand in hers, and said: "She was a Bonding."

Sheera nods, as tears slip down her face. Kristlin looks away from the emotional scene, rather disturbed by the sensitivity, as she refuses to show her own emotions. Stafina, quite the different sister, pulls her cousin in her arms for a loving embrace.

"Don't you worry," Stafina whispers fiercely into the taller woman's ear, knowing very well that Ms. Livegem is not just crying because of the passing of her mother. "I will protect them at all costs."


End file.
